GLBTRT Newsletter A publication of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association http://www.ala.org/glbtrt Vol. 24, No. 1 Spring 2012 Illinois Group Presents in Iowa In February, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s ALA Student Table of Contents Chapter's Queer and Ally Committee presented at the 2012 MBLGTACC (Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Ally College Conference) at Iowa State. Their session "We Were Classified This Way: Queerly Transforming the Library" explored revolutionary library work that sustains queer histories. Iowa LGBT Included in their session was the history of LGBTQ topics in the library, how Presentation 1 subject headings are changed and added ‘License to Bully’ 1 to the Library of Congress in context of the Leather Archives and Museum, authority records and how to fix subject headings at Newsletter Staff 2 your library, porn and privacy, how to ar- chive student organizations, and young LGBT Resources 3 adult (fan)fiction. Presenters were Lucas McKeever, Becca Sorgert, Jane Sandberg, GLSEN As Ally Jeanie Austin, Stephanie Sopka, and Melis- Jenny Betz 4 sa Funfsinn. [Note: Thanks to co-chair of the committee and new GLBTRT member Becca Sorgent, who sent this “because I'm NYC LGBT Resources super proud of our group!”] Lydia Willoughby 5 These young people are vital be- cause of legislation like the “license to bully” that Tennessee continues to pursue. LGBT Bookstores 6-7 HB 1153 originally stated that students would be protected if they made bullying comments because of their religious beliefs; now an amendment has changed “religious beliefs” to “First Amendment rights.” The new language states that kids News 7-8, 11, 13 can say anything they want if “such expression does not include a threat of physical harm to a student or damage to a student’s property.” Non-Discrimination The question, of course, is what constitutes the “threat” and “damage.” One Laws Tennessee school district claims that a boy’s suicide came from his being gay, not Jarred Wilson 8 from the bullying treatment he received from other students. The bill adds that nothing the schools do can “promote a political agenda” and “make the characteris- Reviews tics of the victim the focus rather than the conduct of the person engaged in harass- ment, intimidation, or bullying, or teach or suggest that certain beliefs or viewpoints YA Books 9-10 are discriminatory when an act or practice based on such belief or viewpoint is not a Adult Books 10-12 discriminatory practice …” Film 13 Legislators are also considering bringing back the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. If this bill were passed, school teachers and staff would not be allowed to say the words Books Submitted 14-15 “gay” or homosexual,” even—or especially—in a positive way. High school principal Dorothy Bond (Haywood High School in Brownsville, Ten- nessee)may have thought she was exercising her “First Amendment rights” when Calendar/Officers 16 she said in a February school assembly that gay students are going to hell. A parent said that in an earlier assembly Bond “told the young men if they’re sitting between the legs of a girl getting their hair braided for a few hours, that they must be gay.” Last year Michigan had proposed a similar bill but failed to pass it after news Vote! about the “license to bully” clause raised an uproar across the United States. Not everyone in Tennessee supports the anti-LGBT legislation. Martha Boggs, Deadline: April 27, 2012 owner of Bistro at the Bijou, asked Tennessee State Sen. Stacey Campfield to leave her Knoxville restaurant because he sponsored a bill that would prevent discussion of homosexuality in public schools and recently said that it was virtually impossible for heterosexuals to spread HIV. "I feel like he's gone from being stupid to being dangerous,” Boggs said, “and I wanted to stand up to him." Page 2 Volume 23 Number 4 Jarred Wilson: I am in my second semester at The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information, working on my Master of Science in Information Studies. My background includes an undergraduate degree in history, focusing on the American Colonial era. After college I worked for four years managing two Planned Parenthood health centers. I have been active in the GLBT community, serving on a local steering committee for Equality Florida, as well as volunteering for (and serving a term on the board of directors of) ALSO Out Youth, an organization serving GLBT youth ages 14-21. My wonderful partner of eight years, Mark, and my adorable Schnauzer, Rudy, were gracious enough to follow me to Austin when I decided to pursue graduate school. My interest in studying information comes from a love of organizing and helping people find information, paired with my appreciation for the historical record. I am trying to narrow down my focus, but my interests are leaning towards archives and special libraries. I asked to join the Newsletter Committee because I have found the GLBTRT particularly helpful when navigating the ALA, and I would like to be part of continuing that model of helpfulness and service to each other. Sarah Corvene: I work at Harvard Business School as a Taxonomy/Metadata Specialist. My duties range from traditional library cataloging of serials, monographs, and electronic resources to work with non-library metadata for HBS projects and websites. I have been a member of the GLBT Roundtable for many years but have only recently begun to get involved. I have been a librarian for about 20 years (more if you count my years as a paraprofessional), 15 of them at Harvard. Personally, I have a deep interest in social justice and environmental issues. I am an avid cyclist, both for recreation and transportation, and can often be found cruising the roads of the Boston area on my recumbent bicycle. I brew my own beer and am always willing to share. I’m willing to do what needs to be done and look forward to working on the newsletter. Lydia Willoughby is a librarian and instructor living in Burlington, Vermont. A recent graduate of the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University, she has worked as a reference librarian at LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York, and has a background in nonprofit development and strategic fundraising. In her free time, she helps organize Que(e)ry Party (www.queeryparty.org) and enjoys advocating for open access publishing. Follow her on twitter, @willoughbrarian and @queeryparty. Nel Ward: After 31 years in education as a teacher and a librarian, I retired to the Oregon Coast and opened a bookstore/B&B. My professional experiences in ALA began in 1986 with YALSA, participating on most of their book selection/award committees before I joined SRRT and helped develop the FTF Amelia Bloomer Project. In GLBTRT I have worked with starting The Rainbow Project and the Over the Rainbow Project. In my “retirement” I co-edited The Butch Cookbook and coordinate a youth book review group and write newsletters, including the monthly one for the local PFLAG chapter while I enjoy life with my wonderful partner of almost 43 years and our pets and friends. Reviewers Wanted! Some of our past reviewers have decided to tackle different projects, and we would like to add more people to our existing cadre. Our list of available titles have offerings for almost everyone—LGBT memoirs and biographies, literature, mysteries, erotica, poetry, spirituality, speculative fiction, etc. If you want to read a good book or watch a good film—and keep them—contact us at [email protected]. Please put “Review” in the subject heading. GLBTRT Newsletter (ISSN 1533-7219) is an GLBTRT Newsletter Staff Newsletter Deadlines official publication of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexu- al, Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association. It is published quarterly in Editor: Nel Ward March, June, September, and January. Acting Review Committee Chair: Spring 2012 3/15/12 Jesse Nachem American Library Association Summer 2012 5/31/12 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 Writers: Fall 2012 8/31/12 Winter 2013 11/31/12 Sarah Corvene Please send correspondence to Spring 2013 3/15/13 Lydia Willoughly Nel Ward, Editor [email protected] Jarred Wilson Volume 23, Number 4 Page 3 LGBT Resources for Youth Book Club for Kids: Lambda Literary Foundation is launching My Story, a national online book club for LGBT youth in May. The goal of the program, in partnership with the Gay/Straight Educators Alli- ance and the National Council of Teachers of English, is to provide readers 14 years and older the chance to read and discover LGBT works in the safe and protective atmosphere of Goodreads. Led by a guest youth moderator, weekly activities include discussions, polls, play lists, author commentary and trivia; at the end of the month, the featured author will participate in an hour- long Q&A with readers. The inauguration book is Martin Wilson’s What They Always Tell Us about high school stu- dents, Nathen and Alex, who bond over the mystery surrounding Alex’s 10-year-old neighbor, Henry. For infor- mation about the program, upcoming books, and ways for 14-18-year-olds to become a moderator, check out their website. New Publisher for Picture Books: S. Bear Bergman, award-winning trans author, has launched Flamingo Rampant!, a press creating gender independent chil- dren’s books with The Adventures of Tulip, Birthday Wish Fairy and Backwards Day as the first two titles. Toronto-based artist Suzy Malik illustrates Adventures in a mixed-media style; Katie Diamond of Portland (ME) uses a modern cartoon style for Backwards.